Where does “や” come from?

や (Okinawan) comes from Proto-Ryukyuan *wa, from Proto-Japonic wa — I.

や (Okinawan): topic marker

Definitions

  1. topic marker

Ancestry of “や”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Ryukyuan*wawe
2Proto-JaponicwaI
Every word from Proto-Japonic wa →Every word from Proto-Ryukyuan *wa →
や — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer